Best travel tips before visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris. All answers to questions from independent travelers.
Eiffel Tower: tips for tourists
If you haven’t seen the Eiffel Tower , you haven’t seen Paris. Now it is an undisputed symbol of the capital, but built for the World Exhibition of 1889, it was intended only as a temporary structure.
Since its appearance, the structure has repeatedly caused fierce debate and indignation among aesthetes, and has also become a toy in the hands of scammers.
Even today, some affectionately call her Shepherdess of the Clouds, while others tritely refer to her as a metal tower. In any case, just as Kyiv is impossible without Podol, Paris is not Paris without the Eiffel Tower.
Once you find yourself in the city of passions, you probably won’t be able to ignore it, so here are some useful tips for guests of the French capital before exploring the main attraction.
Where is the Eiffel Tower
It rises on the Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole. This is the city center, easily accessible by any public transport.
You need the left bank of the Seine beyond the nearby Quai Branly. Just opposite it, on the right bank of the river, where the Trocadero gardens are located, is the Jena Bridge, built by order of Napoleon I, which is also considered a historical monument.
How to get to the Eiffel Tower
1) By metro.
If you prefer the underground, keep in mind that there are no stations in the immediate vicinity, and in any case you will have to walk some distance.
The closest stop is Bir Hakeim on line 6, from which it takes 8-11 minutes to walk along the Quai Branly.
The next most distant metro station is “École Militaire” (Military School) on line 8. From here to your destination it takes about 15 minutes if you go through the Champs de Mars. Or you can take bus No. 82, reducing travel time by 5 minutes, but if you take into account the waiting period for transport and the fare, it is better to take a walk and at the same time explore the surroundings of the park.
The most distant station is Trocadero on line 9, located on the other side of the Seine behind the gardens of the same name. You can move from it towards the Eiffel Tower in three ways:
1) Get to the Bir Hakeim metro station, and from there walk along Branly.
2) Take bus number 30 of the STIF carrier, getting off at the “Tour Eiffel” stop (Eiffel Tower) a minute’s walk from your destination.
3) Walk through the Trocadéro Gardens and then along the Jena crossing, at the same time admiring the sculptures of Roman, Greek, Gallic and Arab warriors with their horses on it, and perhaps picking up a few souvenirs from local merchants.
2) By train RER.
Continuing to explore the topic of how to get to the Eiffel Tower, among the most convenient ways is the RER train on line C to the Champ de Mars Eiffel Tower station.
3) By boat Batobus.
You can also use the services of the Batobus water bus, which operates on the principle of urban transport. The Batobus Tour Eiffel pier is located 2 minutes from the end point.
4) By bus.
You can also get here by bus, especially since the stops are within a 4-6 minute walk. The numbers you need are: 30, 42, 69, 72, 82 and 86.
5) Rent a car.
If you rented a car, look for the nearest parking lots at the following addresses:
- Pullman Tour Eiffel parking lot.
- 445 Avenue Joseph Bouvard.
- 2 Place Joffre.
All parking lots are open and no further than 300 meters from the Eiffel Tower.
6) On a Velib bicycle .
The bike rental network is available 24/7. Suitable for young, athletic and dynamic people. Several rental points are located in close proximity to the attraction:
- Station 2 on Otava Grear Ave.
- On the Quai Branly.
- Station 43 on Avenue Rapp.
- Station 36 on Avenue de Suffren.
The Google virtual map will help you find all the addresses and names of stations. By downloading it to your mobile phone, you can mark all the objects of interest and even create a path between them.
Detailed plan of the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower opening hours
The Eiffel Tower is open to visitors every day.
| Operating periods | Elevator | Ladder |
| June 13–August 29 | 09:00–00:45Last rise until 23:30.(to the top until 23:00) | 09:00–00:30Last access until midnight. |
| The rest of the year | 09:30–23:45Last rise until 23:00.(to the highest tier until 22:30) | 09:30–18:30Last access until 18:00. |
Tickets to the Eiffel Tower: types, prices and methods of purchase
Before you buy tickets to the Eiffel Tower, you should know that:
- Children under 4 years of age, although admission is free, still need to take a free ticket, which is available on the official website.
- The Handicap tariff applies to children 4–11 years old and disabled people who must document their disability.
- People with limited physiological capabilities are not allowed to climb to the very top of the tower.
- If this is not a group visit (student group or collective event), but an individual one, you can buy no more than 9 tickets at a time.
- Combination tickets “elevator + stairs” are only available on site at the ticket office. Those. You won’t be able to buy them online.
- There is no pass reservation service. After choosing the type of tickets, you must pay for them immediately.
- You cannot change the date and time, nor can you cancel the purchase itself, so fill out the form carefully.
- If after the purchase you notice an error in your personal data (last name and first name), contact the administration to resolve the situation at: serviceclients@toureiffel.paris . To do this, attach a copy of your ID (passport) and proof of purchase to your letter.
- When you purchase a ticket for the top floor, you have access to the rest of the levels (from top to bottom). First you need to go up, and only then go down one flight below.
Ticket prices for the Eiffel Tower in 2024:
| Climbing levels | Tickets for adults | Youth tariff(12–24 years old) | Passes for children and disabled people(4–11 years) |
| 2nd floor by elevator | 18,80€ | 9,40€ | 4,70€ |
| Top by elevator | 29,40€ | 14,70€ | 7,40€ |
| 2nd floor by stairs | 11,80€ | 5,90€ | 3,00€ |
| Top: stairs + elevator | 22,40€ | 11,20€ | 5,70€ |
*Children under 4 years old can enter all levels for free.
You can purchase entry tickets at the ticket office directly on site, but it is better to do this a few days in advance on the website. After payment, you will receive a virtual ticket by email, which can either be printed or saved in your mobile phone if it supports barcode reading.
When you decide to make a printout, make sure it is of excellent quality. The presence of scuffs, dirt or blurry pictures will invalidate the subscription. Please note that this must be done in advance, since there are no printers at the site.
How to get to the Eiffel Tower without queuing
Since the Eiffel Tower remains the most visited and photographed paid attraction in the world, there are crowds of people near it at any time. Even if you decide to come early, while everyone else is sleeping, you will be surprised that such a brilliant idea came to mind not only you, which is why there are always more people in the morning than in the evening.
One way to get inside without queuing is to book a tour of Paris, which includes a visit to the symbol of the capital. Also available are tickets with priority access to the 2nd tier accompanied by an English-speaking guide (approximate cost 60 euros).
Although travel companies claim that such a ticket provides instant entry, in practice this is not entirely true – they have the same characteristics as e-tickets purchased on the Eiffel Tower website.
Whether you purchased your voucher on the tower website or at a travel agency, in any case you must arrive at the site half an hour before the designated time in order to undergo a security check. For this purpose, separate paths are provided, leading first to the control inspection before entering the site, then to the lift or staircase.
The surest way to quickly get inside is to reserve a table at one of the building’s restaurants: “58 Tour Eiffel” or “Le Jules Verne”. Everyone who has such a reservation is taken up by individual elevators, which serve only restaurant patrons.
If your priority is climbing the Eiffel Tower before everything else, plan your trip for November or February (excluding Valentine’s Day).
During these non-tourist months, you won’t have to wait longer than half an hour in line, but don’t expect a particularly nice view from the top, as the horizon is often foggy. For the sake of beautiful photos, come in the summer, but be prepared – the wait stretches for 2-3 hours.
Speaking about the day of the week, it is natural that on weekends there is always more crowding than on weekdays.
Also, the tail is always smaller for the stairs than for the elevators, since not everyone is ready to make a dizzying ascent to a height of 276 m (upper platform) or at least 116 m (2nd floor) along windswept steps.
Cafes and restaurants at the Eiffel Tower
On the 1st floor, at an altitude of 58 meters from the ground, the restaurant “58 Tour Eiffel” welcomes guests every day. To have breakfast, lunch or dinner, you need to secure a table there. A meal for one person will cost 44.20 euros. There is also a buffet with light snacks, desserts and drinks on the floor.
On the 2nd level there is a restaurant in the Eiffel Tower “Jules Verne” with a magnificent view of the Champs de Mars, the Quai Branly and the Trocadéro. It is open from 12:00–13:30 and from 6:00–21:30, but is closed for dinner on the evening of July 14th.
Prices here are several times higher in comparison with “58 Tour Eiffel”, and regardless of the selected menu, during the process of booking a table, 190 euros per person must be reserved on the client’s bank card.
Don’t forget that there is a dress code for visiting restaurants, so you’ll have to forget about comfortable shorts and T-shirts for a while. Also, smoking is not allowed in any of the local establishments.
On the 2nd tier there is also a bar with colorful macarons and another buffet.
There is a champagne bar on the 3rd floor, although non-alcoholic drinks are also available on the menu. Standing at the highest point among the clouds with a glass of sparkling wine, it is easy to feel the exclusivity of the romantic moment. This is the ideal place to make a long-awaited declaration of love or a marriage proposal.
Interesting stories about the Eiffel Tower
The first thing you need to know is that the Eiffel Tower was not built by elves! The authorship of the Lady of Steel belongs to the architect Gustave Eiffel, and he got the idea from the old drawings of his employee Maurice Kechelin.
The drawings are also based on the research of the Swedish paleontologist Hermann von Mayer, who studied the connection of the femur in the area of its attachment to the joint, and how exactly the body weight is distributed evenly in order to avoid overloads and fractures.
Thanks to these studies, Eiffel developed his own design in such a way that when the top is deflected due to the expansion and contraction of the metal during atmospheric temperature changes, the structure remains stable even with a deviation of several degrees.
Using engraving, Gustave imprinted on the elements of the structure the names of 72 famous French scientists, mathematicians and engineers of that period.
Although everyone now knows the most recognizable architectural landmark of the city as the Eiffel Tower, the creator himself called it more prosaically – the “300-meter tower.”
At the top there is a living room that belonged to Gustave Eiffel. It has several separate rooms, furniture, carpets and even a piano. Here the architect received guests, among whom was the inventor Thomas Edison.
In the year of its opening (1889), the structure was the tallest on the planet, but in 1930 it was surpassed by the Chrysler skyscraper in New York by 18 meters. If we take into account the antenna at the top of the tower, the leadership still remains with Eiffel’s creation. However, at the moment several more giants have appeared, pushing it to 5th place among the high-rise buildings in France.
To avoid corrosion, the metal is periodically painted. This takes about 60 tons of paint. Although it seems that it is all one shade, in fact there are three of them with a transition from bottom to top from dark to light.
In 1912, tailor and would-be designer Franz Reichelt from Austria made a fatal jump from the highest point of the tower, deciding to test a parachute cape of his own design. Unfortunately, everything did not go as planned, and the raincoat glider died.
In 1925–1934 The automobile company Citroen placed its advertisement on the Eiffel Tower. And in 2004/2005, the lower platform was turned into a skating rink, which was also a promotional event in honor of the 2012 Olympics. The idea caught on, and since then it has been filled every winter.
Although the Eiffel Tower remains the most visited site in the world, it also leads in the number of people disappointed due to the huge influx of people and the inability to enjoy the view in peace.
But if now visitors are dissatisfied with its popularity, then in the 19th century they were indignant directly because of the fact of the structure’s existence. For example, Guy de Maupassant constantly dined at the Jules Verne restaurant only because that was the only way he could avoid seeing its steel frame.
Other classics also disparaged the building in their statements. Alexandre Dumas the son compared it to a giant factory chimney, Victor Hugo called it an ink blot, the poet and playwright Paul Verlaine believed that Paris had dishonored itself by building this monstrosity, and Maximilian Voloshin, during fits of hatred, rhymed Eiffel – Teifel (which means devilish).
Also, the structure more than once became a victim of fraud, and more than 20 times it was sold for scrap metal. The most notorious cases date back to 1925 and 1960, and the most brazen swindler turned out to be Victor Lysting, who managed to pull off the same scam twice.
Eiffel Tower lights
Since 1985, the gold lighting of the Eiffel Tower has become a classic, and turns on at nightfall. However, since 2003, an addition has appeared in the beauty’s outfit – every hour until 01:00, an enchanting flicker is lit for 3 minutes (in winter from 21:00).
Sometimes the lighting changes for special occasions. This was the case in 2008, when France played the role of EU chairman, and in honor of this, blue illumination with gold stars in a circle was lit on the tower.
Perhaps someone will be interested in the information that they decided not to throw away the burnt out light bulbs, but to sell them as souvenirs. True, they cost like diamonds – as much as 450 euros apiece.
Hotels near the Eiffel Tower
The best way to enjoy the sight of a slender Parisian woman is to stay in a hotel near her.
Hotel Royal Phare and Hôtel Tour Eiffel (2 stars) have rooms from 120 euros.
At the Hôtel de l’Avre, 700 meters from the Champs de Mars, per night from 135 euros. The interior of the apartment skillfully combines modern design and classics of the last century, and as a bonus there is an open terrace where, in good weather, you can have dinner while admiring the surroundings.
The Jardins Eiffel (3 stars) has comfortable rooms – from 167 euros per night. There are many cafes and the Tour-Maubourg metro station nearby.
A little more expensive at Mercure Paris Center Tour Eiffel (4 stars) – from 190 euros, and at Hôtel Le Walt (4 stars) from 220 euros.
The closest hotel is the 4-star Ullman Paris Tour Eiffel with prices starting from 260 euros. The Derby Alma hotel of the same class offers temporary housing for the same price.
Closer to the Trocadero Gardens is Le Marquis Eiffel with cozy rooms from 210 euros.
If you decide to go wild, the Shangri-La Par palace hotel is at your disposal – a protected architectural monument and the former residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte, where rates start from 800 euros per night.
The main attraction of Paris is clearly visible even from other areas, so it is not necessary to look for a hotel in the immediate vicinity.
It is much more important to ensure that the windows of the room face the right side, and then you can admire the charming beauty at any time, and especially at night, when all 20,000 light bulbs turn on.
Summary
Now you know where the Eiffel Tower is, how to get to it, buy tickets and skip the line. You even know a few interesting facts about the Parisian coquette, and which hotel to choose to admire her day and night.
Over the entire period of its existence, the Eiffel Tower enjoyed different fame, but this did not prevent it from gaining worldwide popularity. Her image can be seen on clothes, bags, hats, calendars, dishes and other things.
Even a tiny keychain bought in Paris turns into a talisman, allowing you to hope for a repeat visit to the city of romance, passions, artists and fashion.